By My Side
by cathinda1
Summary: What if Tommy and Grace knew each other before the war, how would their relationship have developed, how would Grace's relationship be with the rest of the family, with a different barmaid who loves a different brother how will things be different, how will Tommy and Grace change how the series' played out? This is my first Peaky Blinders fan fiction so please be kind to me.
1. Prologue

**This is going to be a sort-of prologue to my story please review, it means a lot to me to know that you like my story. :)**

Grace Burgess was 10 years old and today, well, today she was moving from Ireland to Birmingham with her uncle. It seemed weird to be moving from a very large house to Small Heath, but since the death of her father Grace had grown used to weird being normal. She refused to speak on the boat across from Ireland to Portsmouth. Her uncle was there to pick her up, he had become a substitute father to Grace but he would never replace her real father. It took about four hours to get to Birmingham, by that time there was only enough time left for Grace to unpack her things and have something to eat before her uncle told her it was time for bed.

The Shelby children had just recently lost their mother and it was fair to say that the three brothers were taking it worse than their father or sister. Just last week their aunt Polly had moved in to help Arthur Shelby Snr look after four young children. They had been outside playing when that had seen a car pull up, the kids all rolled their eyes and prepared piles of mud to throw at the owner of the car, a man who didn't belong in Small Heath. Just as the door opened and the kids prepared to throw the mud, they saw a young girl about their age step out of the car and grab a bag before being led into the house.

The next morning there was a small knocking at the door, Grace sat at the top of the stairs as her uncle opened the door to reveal 4 young children; she had seen them yesterday when she had arrived. There were 3 boys and a girl, all looked to be in the age range of 8-14, Grace suddenly felt a hope of getting out of the house for a little while. The young girl looked up at Grace's uncle and spoke,  
"Yesterday afternoon, we saw a girl come here, we were wondering if she wanted to come and play with us and a couple of others for a bit?" Grace couldn't believe what she was hearing,  
"Can I, Uncle? Please, just for a little bit," her uncle relented and let her go out with these children. She grabbed her old jacket and pulled it on before going out with these four children,  
"So who are you lot, I'm Grace, Grace Burgess and I'm 10," the kids all spoke one after the other,  
"Arthur Shelby, 13," He had a thick Birmingham accent to him,  
"Thomas Shelby, 11," His blue eyes shone with interest in Grace,  
"John Shelby, I'm 9," He looked as if he was often left out due to his older brothers,  
"Ada Shelby and I'm 8," Grace looked at the only girl, it was almost as if she was protected by her older brother too much for her liking. The five kids played out for the whole day. They spent ages getting to know each other and finally Grace felt like she had a normal thing back, she hadn't felt anything normal since her father's death.

As the years went on the Shelby family changed, Aunt Polly began looking after the kids single handed since their father abandoned a small child at their doorstep and left them. He hadn't been seen in over a year. Grace became close with Tommy, the two would often go off and sit on the hills by the canal together and just talk for a bit. Now with Grace at 14 and Tommy at 15, they were nearly always out together. Grace's uncle hated Tommy massively. He always seemed to think that Tommy was taking advantage of Grace no matter how much she cared for him.  
"C'mon, Tommy, just tell me the truth," Grace said as she linked her arm with his, her Irish accent still thick on her voice without the smallest hint of a Birmingham accent, Tommy looked at her and just began laughing,  
"No, you'll make fun of me," he said through his laughing,  
"Tommy, all the boys at school are ready to back you. Besides I won't laugh! Just tell me, what do you want to do when you grow up?" Tommy looked at her with a look he only ever used with her,  
"I want to work with horses." Grace stopped,  
"Really?" She seemed shocked, Tommy nodded seriously, he looked at Grace and that was it, they both started laughing. The two walked back towards the others where they were having a mud-fight. When they turned into the field one mud pile hit Tommy square on the chest and everyone stopped, it was one of Ada's friends who had thrown it, Tommy looked murderous, that was until Grace started laughing, Tommy joined her and pretty soon everyone was laughing and Tommy and Grace joined the mud-fight. Everyone was laughing, they didn't have a care in the world, it was 1910, they were all still kids, Grace was just 15, she had been in Birmingham for five years now and she felt more at home in grubby little Small Heath than she ever felt in Ireland.

It didn't take long for darkness to approach and 16 kids all walked off the hill laughing and covered head to toe in mud, most of the kids were quite young and everyone was ready to go home and get to bed, most parents just clicked their tongues as their children arrived back, it was Small Heath, you couldn't step outside without mud covering you so the children of the streets always took advantage of the days after rain. Yet Grace didn't have it so easy as she got home, her uncle started shouting at her before the door had even closed, Tommy came over to the door,  
"It was my fault, sir. I was the one who hit Grace with the mud," Tommy noticed how suddenly Grace's uncle was red and looked like he was ready to kill Tommy, before he could do anything, all the kids were over at the door and saying that they had helped,  
"You are not coming into this house looking like that," his voice was murderously low and Grace looked terrified as the door shut. Grace looked over to Tommy and the others with a sad smile that just said thanks for trying, Tommy hugged her gently and brought her across the road towards his house.

The two stepped inside and took off their jackets,  
"I can't go home yet, he'll kill me," Grace had tears in her eyes as Polly approached her,  
"C'mon, you can sleep in Ada's room tonight." Grace was thankful for the Shelby's and no matter how angry he could get at people, she was beyond thankful for Tommy.


	2. The War

**What if Tommy and Grace knew each other before the war, how would their lives be different? This is my story on what would have changed in their lives.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Peaky Blinders!**

Tommy and Grace began dating only weeks after Grace spent the night of the mud fight at the Shelby house. At 18, Grace's uncle told her that he wanted to move to London, she had begged him to let her stay in Birmingham and after days of the begging he did finally relent and he left her the house, number 7 Watery Lane, opposite the Shelby house. Tommy moved in a month later at Grace's request. It was the December of 1914 that Tommy had proposed, the Great War was being fought and Tommy wanted to make sure that he and Grace would be together properly. She had said yes.

Grace had known this family for so long now but this was just so unusual even for them, she thought she knew Tommy, her fiancée, but it seemed as though she was back to square one and just the girl from across the road. How could Tommy volunteer to go to war with Grace being pregnant? It was a late night in their house in 1915 Birmingham and Tommy was worried about going to war, what would happen to Grace and the baby if he never came home? Who would look out for Polly, Grace, Ada and Finn while he, Arthur and John were away fighting?

"Promise me one thing Thomas, just one thing," Grace asked him in the softest voice she could muster through her silent weeping. Tommy had his eyes fixed on her as he whispered: "I will be home before the baby is too old, that much I hope to be able to promise you." The next thing Tommy knew was the two arms wrapping themselves tightly around his neck. Her tears were no longer silent and she was almost praying to make sure Tommy would be safe so far away.

The following morning saw Polly, Grace, Ada and Finn at the train station waving to the train as it pulled away with Arthur, John and Tommy all on board with many of the other boys from Small Heath. Leaving the station Grace began to cry silently, her lower lip trembling as her tears spilled from her eyes, Polly wrapped an arm around Grace and another around Ada, Finn was still slightly too young to fully understand why the three women were so upset.

 **6 MONTHS LATER**

Grace held her newborn baby girl to her chest, they were at Grace's house as another letter had come from Tommy, and these were the only things that kept Grace going whilst Tommy was away. She was only just reading this one:

 _My Dearest Grace_ _  
_ _It appears that this war is not going to end as soon as either of us hoped,_ _  
_ _things are difficult out here, we have seen men die, killed some of them too,_ _  
_ _Polly wrote that you had a daughter, I liked the name she said you picked._ _  
_ _Eleanor Elizabeth Shelby, are you sure you want her last name to be Shelby?_ _  
_ _Give her all my love but I am afraid that I cannot stay writing for long,_ _  
_ _the battle is still going on above me. All of us Shelby boys are still here, though._ _  
_ _Please tell Polly and Ada this much but remember one thing,_ _  
_ _I love you Grace and tell our little girl that I love her too._

 _Yours with all my soul,_ _  
_ _Tommy_

Grace just wanted to cry as she read the letter and very soon the tears began to fall but then Grace felt a small hand reach up and wipe away the tears that had begun to fall over Grace's cheeks.

About ten minutes had passed with an undisturbed silence passing between the two when there was a gentle knock at the door.  
"Grace, I have more food for you." Eleanor took that as her opportunity to start crying,  
"Babies don't work off of a schedule, love, you need to come out and see the sun. Ellie, Eleanor sorry, needs to come outside soon Grace and so do you." Polly often found herself correcting what she called the baby, Grace was determined that her daughter would be called Eleanor as it was her full name,  
"look, I know that it is getting late but please let me in, I can help you with Eleanor for a bit. Please, I just want to help you, Grace." Once Eleanor was asleep Grace stood by the window watching the rain fall, she missed the man she loved, people had started talking, saying that Eleanor was another man's child and she just said it was Tommy's to get the protection of the Shelby's.

As Grace looked on out the window the tears silently slid down her cheeks again, she had cried an awful lot since Tommy had left, but the latest letter broke her heart further as he had now confirmed that he wouldn't be home as soon as he had hoped, meaning he might have to break his promise and Thomas Shelby never broke his word. Polly came over to the window next to Grace, she had seen the young woman at her best and at her worst.

 **3 YEARS ON**

6 weeks ago a telegram came telling them that the boys would be home from the war in a few weeks, they were trying to prepare everything for them, Grace was trying to make sure that everything would be perfect for when Tommy got back. Eleanor had developed a habit of wandering off as she was now able to walk and so would often try and get down the stairs on her own. Grace, however, didn't like this as the last time her daughter had tried to get down the stairs she fell and hit her head, so whilst sorting out the house she had to keep an eye on Eleanor so that she didn't wander off too far. The little girl seemed to know all too well that something good was happening as she was almost always laughing, which in turn made Ada, Finn, Polly and Grace all laugh as well. None of them could understand how such a sweet and happy little girl came for the pain of the last three years.

Tommy and the others were coming home that day, Eleanor was now 3 years old and seemed to be able to find every way to wind her mother up. Grace just hoped that Tommy would be able to help the little girl find order in her heart. Grace had been out on a walk with Eleanor when they saw the family across the road murdered for being communists Eleanor had seen it clearly but Grace hadn't seen it all so Eleanor was worse affected by it. Grace shook the memory from her mind as they saw the train pull up. Ada, Finn, and Polly were with her to greet their family home, all of them were buzzing with excitement as the train was heard in the distance. Grace had her daughter in her arms to stop the little girl wandering off, which she had a tendency to do lately. The train stopped quickly and the doors opened to let off the soldiers who were more than ready to be back in Birmingham.

The three Shelby brothers were quickly spotted by the rest of the family and the brothers must've seen them as soon the three boys were running towards their family, Tommy possibly faster than the other two but that was only to be expected. As John and Arthur got to the group, Tommy was already holding his daughter in his arms. The two other brothers saw the little girl look up at Tommy with questioning eyes but she seemed to know who he was.  
"Hey Ellie," Tommy whispered to the little girl in his arms, Polly had to suppress a laugh as Grace tried to avoid scowling Tommy, the other brothers took this moment as a chance to greet their family, they both hugged Polly and Ada and went to hug Finn but he ran behind Polly. Tommy, still holding his daughter, pulled Grace close to him and then kissed her, this left the rest of the family smiling at them before Polly spoke up to the whole family,  
"Why don't we get going so we can chat about everything," she carefully looked around her before quickly adding,  
"In private." The family swiftly left the train station to go back home where they could actually talk about what had been going on. As the family arrived back at the house Tommy was still holding onto his daughter. They slowly walked inside the house and all ended up in the kitchen when Polly asked the brothers what had happened out there in France, they slowly began to explain,

"We were Clay Kickers, Pol. We would dig the tunnels under the other trenches, place a bomb, detonate it and hope that we were still alive. We couldn't write often we were always down in the tunnels, we did try to write but we couldn't speak about the war in the letters." Arthur said quite solemnly. Polly looked at the three men who were sat at the table, then to the two women at the table, Eleanor was mumbling away to herself and she was holding on to Tommy's coat with quite a lot of strength in her grasp. Polly then began to explain what her, Ada, Grace, and Finn had been doing while they were away.

Polly looked at the three men who were sat at the table, then to the two women at the table, Eleanor was mumbling away to herself and she was holding on to Tommy's coat with quite a lot of strength in her grasp. Polly then began to explain what her, Ada, Grace, and Finn had been doing while they were away.

"We weren't allowed to work in the factories as I was the carer of Finn and Ada was also his career and Grace had Eleanor to look after, things changed very quickly once you boys had left, people didn't like us that much because we weren't helping with the war effort, people gave us looks of disgust but after Eleanor was born, saying that she was another man's child but Grace said she was Tommy's so we would protect her, Grace shut herself away after that, I would take her and Eleanor food packages to make sure that they were okay but most of the time Grace didn't talk back to me. We were all trying to cope with the men of Birmingham way, us women were trying to carry on as though everything was the same, everyone took a different reaction to you all being away."

Later that night Tommy was trying to get his daughter to go to sleep but she seemed interested in knowing more about him and what he did so he was talking to her about what he did in the war,

"I would dig tunnels under the ground until I reached the other trenches or a different group of tunnelers, they were normally the bad people who we would get to, it meant that we had to hurt people. You and your mum were like my guardian angels, you both were the people that stopped me doing anything stupid. When I left I made a promise to your mum telling her that I would be home to watch you grow up and I figure that I did keep that promise, what about you, eh? Do you think I did?"

Grace was stood in her daughter's doorway listening to Tommy talk to their little girl before she fell asleep. As Tommy turned around he saw Grace stood there watching him with a smile on her face, one that he had longed to see for nearly four years. He took her hands in his before leading her to their room where they spent two hours making love before Eleanor awoke crying,

"I'll go, you stay here," Tommy whispered to Grace before going into his daughter's room, he saw the little girl stood crying with her arms open for him to pick her up which he swiftly did, taking her into his arms he quickly began to soothe the child from her nightmare, he began to talk to her very softly,

"I have nightmares too. I hear the shovels against the walls of the bedroom and pray, well hope rather than pray, that the sun will come up before the shovels reach me. When I'm with your mum, I don't hear the shovels." He looked at the child that had begun to fall asleep in his arms before he lay her back down in her bed,  
"goodnight Angel."

The next morning Eleanor had found her way into Tommy and Grace's room and was sat on Tommy's chest whilst he was awake mumbling happily to herself, Grace woke up as she heard Tommy talking to Eleanor as she messed with her ladybird toy- Bug. The three slowly got dressed and ready for going to see the rest of their family. Grace seemed to like Tommy calling their daughter Ellie but hated anyone else calling her that. They arrived at the main Shelby Brothers Limited office and Tommy left Ellie playing in the kitchen under the watchful eye of John as the women all went out for the weekend but Grace had left Eleanor in the care of Tommy, John and Arthur which Aunt Polly was calling a huge mistake. John had two children so volunteered to keep an eye on Eleanor whilst his brothers did some work.

 **This is my first fanfiction in a long time so constructive criticism only please nothing that is just plain rude but please give me advice as to how to improve if you can see areas. I know the 3-year gap isn't ideal but I will try to make sure other chapters don't have them.** **The next chapter will have 1919 as the year (series 1) so Ellie will be four, I will have changed some ideas from the show to my preference, like the order of events and there will still be a barmaid who is a spy but it won't be Grace.**

 **Remember reviews are always welcome so please review. :D**


	3. Episode 1

**Ok so I have completely rewritten this chapter, I didn't like where the other one headed as it didn't follow canonical order of plot so hopefully this should be better.  
Again I don't own Peaky Blinders, only Eleanor.**

 **Small Heath, Birmingham 1919**

Tommy and Grace were spending as much time as they could together and with Eleanor, after the war Tommy became cold. Well cold to everyone but his daughter and Grace, even with all the talk that Eleanor hadn't been Tommy's daughter, there was no denying it anymore, even if someone tried they would probably end up dead. She had Grace's blonde hair but her eyes were the same shining blue as Tommy's.

Tommy was riding a horse with Eleanor sat in front of him, he was taking the horse to have a spell put on it by a Chinese woman who the washer women said was a Witch. After the spell was done Tommy was taking the horse back to the stables. Ellie was smiling as Tommy talked to her,  
"So how about we take the horse back to Charlie and then I take you to see mummy? Yeah?" Ellie nodded,  
"Yeah!" She called quietly, Tommy couldn't help but chuckle as he kissed the top of her head. They headed passed the Garrison when people began to really take note of them, a policeman touched his hat, people began moving out the way and some even grabbed their children to pull them away from the leader of the Peaky Blinders and his daughter.

At Charlie's yard, Tommy sat to talk to Charlie by a fire while Ellie explored a bit. Tommy had taken the four-year-old to Charlie's yard many times so he wasn't too worried about her getting hurt. Ellie went with Curly as the man put the horse on a boat,  
"Ellie! Stay where I can see you!" Tommy called to the girl who loved wandering, she looked over to her father a nodded.

The two remained at Charlie's yard for 10 minutes before Tommy picked up Ellie and the two went back to Watery Lane. Arriving at the house, Tommy set Ellie on her feet before taking her hand and letting her into the house. The two breezed through the hallway and parlour. Tommy took off his coat and took Ellie's from her before they headed into the small kitchen where Finn was, the 10-year-old was smoking a cigarette while watching the fire,  
"Finn!" Tommy calls as he let go of Ellie's hand, Finn through the cigarette into the fire before talking,  
"Arthur's mad as Hell," Tommy knelt down next to his youngest brother,  
"And what would a 10 year old know about Hell, eh?" Tommy playfully hit Finn with the back of his cap,  
"I'm eleven Sunday!" The boy exclaimed as Tommy stood and headed through a door into a betting shop. Ellie didn't follow, it hadn't taken her long to figure out that she wasn't meant to go back there on race days. Grace came into the room and lifted her daughter into her arms before taking her to their house across the road to get her some food.

In the betting shop, Tommy began looking around trying to see where Arthur was. John turned around and saw Tommy before calling,  
"Tommy! Just look at the board, just look at it!" Tommy smirks,  
"Nice work John." Just as Tommy finished speaking, another voice sounded from the other end of the betting shop,  
"Tommy!" Arthur yelled, "Get in here!" Tommy rolled his eyes but headed over anyway. John smirked as his older brother headed towards the small office. Tommy looked through the glass and saw that Arthur seemed both angry and anxious.

Tommy enters the office where Arthur is slowly counting coins into a hat, the older man deliberately takes a long time to finish counting before he looks up as Tommy leans against the far wall,  
"You were seen doing the powder tick down in Garrison Court." Arthur spoke as Tommy lent back against the door,  
"Times are hard. People need a reason to lay a bet." He stated simply, Arthur shifted uncomfortably at the coolness of tone in Tommy's voice.  
"There was a Chinese." Arthur stated trying to act powerful,  
"The washer women say she's a witch. Helps them believe." Tommy still wasn't affected by Arthurs anger that was edging more and more into his voice.  
"We don't mess with Chinese," Arthur argued,  
"Look at the board," Tommy's tone was still cool and steady compared to Arthurs rising temper,  
"Chinese have cutters of their own!" Arthur snapped, Tommy mentally rolled his eyes.  
"We agreed, I take charge in drumming up new money," Tommy spoke leaning his head forward slightly making Arthur back down a little,  
"What if Monaghan Boy wins?" Was all Arthur said, all Tommy did was stare at his brother almost like he was saying 'it's all under control'.

Arthur stood and placed his fists on the desk,  
"You fixing races now Tommy?" Tommy angled his head slightly,  
"You have permission from Billy Kimber to be fixing races?" Arthur asked more forcefully this time, Tommy didn't reply but his face hardened, Arthur moved around the desk, coming closer to Tommy. Arthur raised his voice,  
"What's got into you Tommy? You think we can take on the Chinese and Billy Kimber. Billy has an army..." He didn't get a chance to finish before Tommy interrupted,  
"I think, Arthur. I think," The two brothers looked at each other before tommy finished,  
"So you don't have to." After speaking, Tommy turned and headed for the door,  
"Tommy!" Arthur yells but Tommy doesn't stop, Arthur moves to the door of his office,  
"Tommy, there's some news from Belfast." Tommy just keeps walking through the cigarette and cigar smoke,  
"Tommy! I'm calling a family council tonight at eight o'clock. This time you be there Tommy! You hear me! There's trouble coming!" John turned and watched both Tommy and Arthur as Arthur headed back into his office and Tommy left the betting shop.

Grace saw from the window of the house, Tommy was off towards the Garrison pub, she turned back to her daughter who was drawing on scraps of paper. Grace sat back down on the sofa with her book, half reading, half watching Eleanor, making sure that she didn't go wandering. About an hour passed before Tommy came in, Eleanor had heard the door open and ran to her dad who easily picked up the small girl, he turned to Grace,  
"Family meeting, Arthur wants us there. Apparently there's word from Belfast," Grace smiled when she saw the glint in Tommy's eyes,  
"Oh you mean what you told me about the other night," Tommy nodded with a smirk before taking Grace's hand and the family headed across the road to join the rest of the family.

Walking into the kitchen, Tommy placed a yawning Ellie onto one of the chairs where she curled up as Tommy lay his coat over her like a blanket, the girl was soon asleep.

Tommy and Grace were met in the kitchen by Polly and John, the four all looked at each other before Polly walked towards the door of the betting shop, they all looked at Finn as they went past. As the door shut, Finn pressed his ear to the wood to try and hear what was being said but was having no luck apart from hearing the low growl of Arthur's voice.

In the betting shop, Arthur spoke clearly,  
"I've called this meeting because I've got some news. From Ireland." Tommy was watching Arthur like a hawk from his place by the fire,  
"Nipper and Henry got back from Belfast last night. They were buying a stallion to cover their mares." Arthur gestures towards two men in their twenties and they confirmed with a nod.  
"They were in a pub in the Shankhill Road yesterday and there was a copper handing out these." Arthur passed out a couple of flyers, John read it carefully,  
"If you're over five feet and can fight, come to Birmingham," he looked around at the rest of the family as he finished reading the top line. The family looked at each other slightly puzzled while Tommy and Grace looked at each other with knowing looks.  
"They're recruiting Protestant Irishmen to come over here as Specials." Arthur explained seeing the puzzled looks around the room,  
"To do what?" Ada asked looking up from where she sat at the table, Tommy was holding one of the flyers and spoke while reading before Arthur got a chance,  
"To clean up the city." He didn't look up as he spoke but Arthur looked shocked at Tommy's knowledge,  
"He's a Chief Inspector. The last four years he's been clearing the IRA out of Belfast..." Tommy spoke again, this time looking up,  
"How do you know so bloody much?" Arthur asked indignantly, Tommy looked back at the flyer,  
"Because I asked the coppers on our payroll." Tommy said as though it were obvious.  
"And why didn't you tell me?" Arthur questioned again,  
"I am telling you," Tommy said with a coolness that made the room uneasy, everyone was silent but Polly had fixed her stare onto Tommy.

Polly decided to speak and break the silence,  
"Why are they sending him to Birmingham?" Arthur went to speak but instead took a drink, he clearly had no idea why. Tommy however did,  
"There have been a lot of strikes at the Austen works and the BSA factory lately. Papers are talking about sedition. Revolution. I reckon it's Communists he's after." Tommy had clearly taken over being head of the meeting, he and Polly shared a stare. No-one moved almost like Polly and Tommy were having a silent meeting with just a single stare,  
"What's the inspectors name?" Grace asked,  
"Campbell." Tommy stated, looking to Grace who stood next to him,  
"Campbell…" She muttered more to herself before looking at the rest of the group,  
"Belfast boys used to move to get away from him, it wasn't long after I left, people used to disappear in the night, good men, Catholic men usually, ones who crossed him. Used to claim they fell down stairs or something like that." Grace looked back to Tommy when she finished speaking,  
"Yeah but we ain't IRA. We bloody fought for the King." John said, now on his feet,  
"It never mattered to him, he used to plant people around the city, infiltrate families, Catholic, Communist, gangs, it didn't matter. Someone would be positioned in a location the targets visited regularly but didn't own, use to gather intel, not the obvious stuff but the personal, stuff the coppers didn't have on file. Either that or they would take entire families prisoners, torture and kill them when they didn't give the right information." Grace was looking straight at John when she finished speaking. John spoke again,  
"Yeah, but we're Peaky Blinders, we ain't scared of bloody coppers. If they come for us, we'll cut 'em a smile each way." There were some sniggers from some of the younger members of the family but the older members are solemn,  
"We just have to be more careful, that's all." Tommy looked over to Arthur, clearly handing the authority back to him now that business was done,  
"So, Arthur, is that it?" Arthur is a little fuzzy and nods. Polly now has deep suspicions that Thomas knows more than he is saying. She gets to her feet before speaking,  
"This family does everything open. You have nothing more to say to this meeting, Tommy?" Tommy doesn't answer but feels her suspicion and meets her stare,  
"Nothing that's women's business." Polly glares back at him with cool certainty,  
"This whole bloody enterprise was 'women's business' while you boys were away at war. What's changed?" Tommy gestured to the men around the room,  
"We came back." He stated simply, his voice cold. Tommy turns and he and Grace head for the door and Arthur follows, Polly responds with a low growl.

Exiting the room and entering the kitchen, Tommy carefully lifted his sleeping daughter and his coat as one and made sure that his daughter was safe in his arms before following Grace across the road then into their house. Tommy carefully took Ellie up to her room where he lay her under her covers, cautious not to wake her, he had managed to untangle his coat from her and get her shoes off but other than that, it was late and he just let her sleep.

The following morning, Tommy headed out to meet Polly in a Catholic church. He entered and saw her sat on one of the pews, he walked over and sat down on the row behind,  
"I only have ten minutes, what do you want?" Tommy said as he sat down, Polly didn't turn to face him as she spoke,  
"An explanation." She stated, still facing forward, Tommy closed his eyes for a moment,  
"An explanation of what?" Polly turned to face him with a glare,  
"Of what's so secret." No-one spoke for a moment,  
"I've always been able to tell…" Polly faded off,  
"Tell what?" Tommy asked sincerely,  
"When you're hiding something." There was another pause,  
"People round here talk. Some of them work at the BSA." Polly stated, breaking the silence while Tommy took in a weary breath.  
"I've been talking to wives of factory hands. Detectives have been asking questions in the proofing shops." Polly continued, Tommy looked at some of the artwork on the wall, not really taking it in but rather thinking about what to say.

Polly noticed this and spoke once more,  
"Speak. God and Aunt Polly are listening." Tommy spoke in a soft voice,  
"It was meant to be routine. I had a buyer in London for some motorcycles. I asked my men to steal me four bikes with petrol engines. I'm guessing my men were drunk. There's a still inside the factory makes tram line gin... They picked up the wrong fucking crate..." Polly looked directly at Tommy,  
"So what was in the crate?" She pushed, Tommy took another weary breath,  
"The boys delivered it to Charlie's yard as agreed. They must've taken it from the proofing bay instead of the export bay. Inside the crate we found twenty five Lewis machine guns with ten thousand rounds of ammunition. Fifty semi-automatic rifles, two hundred pistols with shells..." Polly looked at him shocked as he came clean,  
"All bound for Libya. Sitting right there in Charlie Strong's yard." Tommy stated the last part barely above a whisper, still in shock, Polly spoke,  
"Jesus Tommy. Tell me you threw them in the cut." A flicker of uncertainty appeared in Tommy's eyes,  
"We put them in the stables out of the rain. The guns hadn't been greased yet... " Neither of them spoke once again.

Abruptly Polly turned around and started hitting Tommy,  
"That's why they sent the copper from Belfast." Her voice was angry but also held some fear that wouldn't be evident to most but it was to Tommy,  
"Maybe. Maybe not." He stated trying to ease the fear from her, Polly laughed away her doubt,  
"Thomas Shelby, you are bookmaker, a robber, a fighting man, but you are not a fool. You sell those guns to anyone who has use for them, you will hang." Her voice was low and cool, no one spoke, after a moment, Polly told Tommy what he should do,  
"Dump them somewhere the police can find them. When they know they haven't fallen into the wrong hands perhaps this will blow over." Tommy nodded gently and Polly took his hand,  
"Tell Charlie to dump them tonight." Tommy stood after Polly finished speaking,  
"He won't move contraband around under a full Moon." Tommy stated matter of factly, Polly was about to speak when Tommy spoke again,  
"Three days until it wanes." Polly looked at him,  
"And then you'll do the right thing?" Tommy nodded as Polly grabbed his arm before speaking once more,  
"You have your mother's common sense and your father's devilment. I see them fighting." She lowered her voice,  
"Let your mother win." Tommy gave a small smile as he turned and left the church, Polly watched him go and them turned back forward and mumbled a prayer.

A young, dark haired woman approached the Garrison pub, it was closed but she wasn't there to drink, she entered the building. As she did Harry looked over to her,  
"I'm here about the job as a barmaid," the young woman said,  
"Are you mad?" Harry said going back to work,  
"Am I what?" The woman questioned,  
"You know about this place?" Harry looked at her briefly while sweeping up cigarette ends, the woman hesitates,  
"I saw an advertisement." Harry gave a half smile at her nervousness,  
"Job's been filled," He said without looking up,  
"But it was in yesterday's paper," She implored,  
"Believe me love, I'm doing you a favour." Harry said with a chuckle, the woman was adamant though,  
"I'm not asking for favours, I'm asking for employment," Harry looked at her,  
"You're too nice," He looked her up and down as she spoke,  
"How would you know?" He scoffed,  
"And too pretty. They'd have you up against a wall." He stated simply,  
"I have experience. And references." She pushed. She dug a sheet of paper out of her bag and handed it to Harry,  
"Which part of Ireland are you from?" Harry said taking the paper,  
"Galway. I worked in Dublin." Harry glanced at the crucifix that hung carefully around her neck,  
"My mother was from Galway," He looks at her with a smile before getting back to work,  
"Too pretty." He stated.

She looked at him,  
"Watch…" Was all she said in response, she grabbed a spittoon from the base of the bar...  
"And listen..." The woman began to sing an Irish song as she scooped up the other two spittoons. She clutched all three in one hand and swirled them around as she sung. Her voice was sweet and strong. She poured the disgusting contents of one spittoon into the other then that one into a third. And yet she carried on singing,  
"...But the sea is wide, and I can't cross over..." Her face held no reaction of horror as she brandishes the fully charged spittoon then heads for the back of the bar. She swiftly unlatched the bar divide and emptied the spittoon into the sink. She poured water from a jug into the spittoon and returned to systematically half-filled and swilled the other two spittoons. She poured the dirty water into one spittoon and takes it back to the sink and pours it away. All the time singing and all the while with Harry watching her,  
"...with gold and silver, I will support you..." She placed the three spittoons back in place with a clatter, handles facing outward. She finished her song with a flourish to an amazed Harry.  
"...Ah but I'm sick now, and my days are over. So come all you young men, and carry me down." The woman bowed elegantly then straightened up. Harry stared at her. She smiled and glanced at the freshly fixed glass pane.

The woman looked to the floor quickly before looking back to Harry,  
"I hope you know a lot of songs." Harry said with a chuckle,  
"What did you say your name was?" Harry asked,  
"Anna, Anna Davis." Stated Anna.

A few hours passed at the Garrison before Grace arrived just before opening, Harry smiled as she came in,  
"AH! Grace, this is Anna. Anna, Grace." Grace smiled and nodded to the nervous looking woman,.  
"SO, Harry? Are we ready?" Harry smiled and waited for the two women to get behind the bar before opening the doors and a swarm of men entered. Anna was pouring drinks quickly but not quite as quick as Grace,  
"Is it always this busy on a daytime?" Anna practically yells over the noise in the bar, Harry walks over,  
"No. These boys are all on their way to St. Andrews." Harry calls over with a smile,  
"To pray?" Anna asks, Grace and Harry both chuckle,  
"That'll be the day!" Grace says with a smile,  
"St. Andrews is a football ground. The Blues are playing." Harry calls before gesturing to a group of four men by the door,  
"That's the forward line and the goalie, believe it or not," Harry heads off taking a pint, just then the small covers on a window of a private seating area open,  
"Hello!" Calls the voice of Thomas Shelby over the noise, Anna goes to serve him but he calls over to Grace who hasn't heard him,  
"Grace! I need you and a bottle of rum!" Harry had just come back and passed the whole bottle to Grace and sent her off, Tommy and Grace were quick to leave to pub.  
"He's one of the ones you told me about," Anna said looking at Harry, he turned his back to the customers and spoke so only Anna could hear,  
"Anna, you're a friendly girl but be careful. If I say 'on the house' say nothing to whoever you're serving. If they decide they want you there's nothing anybody could do about it." Harry took a swig of beer before speaking again,  
"Lucky for you, since he got back from France, Tommy doesn't want anybody at all. Well, anyone but Grace." Anna looked over to the door, still pulling pints.

Tommy was holding Grace's hand as he led her to the Shelby house, when they got inside, Grace saw Arthur sat on a chair, covered in blood.  
"You will be when I wrapped this cloth round you neck," they heard Ada say as they came over, Tommy grabbed a cloth and poured some rum onto it, the room's atmosphere had darkened as Tommy wiped the cloth over some of the injuries making Arthur hiss in pain. Arthur spoke to the group,  
"He said Mr Churchill sent him to Birmingham." Ada came over to the table holding a bowl of boiling water,  
"National interest, he said. He said there'd been a robbery." Polly sent a sharp glare to Tommy who just took a step back from Arthur,  
"He said he wants us to help him." Arthur stated, John looked offended,  
"We don't help coppers," He said from where he stood against the wall,  
"He knew all about our war records. He said we're patriots like him," Ada held a cloth soaked in the boiling water against another injury.  
"He said he wants us to be his eyes and ears." Arthur brushed Ada aside and looked at Tommy.  
"I told him we'd have a family meeting and a vote." The two men stared at each other before Arthur spoke again,  
"Why not? We have no truck with communists. Or Fenians." Arthur said, Tommy didn't respond, both he and Polly are looking at each other as if arguing with their eyes,  
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Polly, what is wrong with him lately?" Arthur said looking between Polly and Tommy,  
"If I knew, I'd buy the cure from Compton's Chemists." Tommy grabbed his coat and spoke while putting it on,  
"Arthur, you're broken up pretty bad." He heads out the door followed by Grace, Arthur growled due to his wounds stopping him going after Tommy, Polly yelled after the man but he was already gone.

Tommy and Grace headed to their house where Ellie was still sat playing, the couple went into the kitchen,  
"What's going on Thomas?" He went to say that nothing was wrong but she held up her hand,  
"I know you, what is it?" Tommy quietly explained about the guns,  
"Holy shit Tommy," Grace whispered, Tommy looked at her sadly,  
"I will keep you and Ellie safe, no matter what." He pulled Grace into his arms and kissed her.

The following night, Grace is working at the Garrison with Anna, Harry was pulling pint, Anna serving them while Grace was singing, it wasn't unusual for Grace to sing while she worked but it was rare for her to stand and sing with the whole pub. The door opened just as the rest of the pub joined in singing. Through the door walked first John and then Tommy, all the men stopped singing, some looked down into their beers, Grace locked eyes with Tommy as she finished off the song,  
"The boy I love is up in the gallery, the boy love is looking at me, can't you see him standing there, waving his handkerchief, as merry as a robin, that sings on the tree." Grace finished with a smile, Anna looked scared, she had been told that you don't cross the Shelby's, especially Thomas, and yet there was Grace locking eyes with him and singing.

Silence filled the pub, finally, Harry dared to speak up,  
"We haven't had singing in here since before the War." Harry said with a nervous chuckle. After a moment, Tommy breaks eye contact with Grace only to glare at Harry,  
"Why do you think that is?" Tommy led John to their private area in the bar, closed off from the rest of the pub by doors and shutters. Grace smirks as Tommy looks back at her, closing the door, her small victory obviously going to be one of many.

The morning following Tommy found out that Danny Wizz Bang had killed an Italian and his brothers wanted Danny dead, Tommy said he would do it. They would stood by the cut, Tommy was just talking to Danny calmly,  
"Danny, as you know, the man you killed was Italian. And those two men down there are his brothers. Now if I let the Italians do this they'll cut off your manhood and let you drain. That's how those bastards do things. So, to stop a war breaking out between us and the Italians, and to save you from their barbarity, I said I would dispatch you myself. They are here to witness," Danny let out a breath when Tommy finished, he spoke with a voice filled with remorse,  
"I died over there anyway Tommy. I left my fucking brains in the mud." Tommy nodded knowingly,  
"Yeah. Any last requests, comrade?" This time it was Danny who nodded,  
"You'll look out for my Rosie and my boys. See they get apprenticeships. At the BSA factory or the Austen. They'll make foremen. I know they will. Just ordinary. Just ordinary men. And they won't get told to do that shit, _that shit_ , that shit we got told to do." Tommy nodded curtly, Danny looked at Tommy with tearful eyes,  
"I suppose I ought to pray now." Tommy looked away to watch the black coal barge moving closer towards them,  
"Those fucking guns blew God right out of my head." Danny bowed his head while fighting tears,  
"Is that boat for me?" He asks slowly while looking at Tommy for a response, all Tommy gives is a short nod once again,  
"We have to get your body out of the city. This new copper, you know..." Danny nodded knowing exactly what Tommy means,  
"Don't bury me anywhere where there's mud. Ok? Promise me. Bury me on a hill. And tell Rosie where." Danny asked quickly, Tommy nodded before he pulled his revolver from its holster, he cocked it and Danny squeezed his eyes shut.

Tommy held out his hand and Danny shook it,  
"You were a good man and a good soldier," Tommy said truthfully,  
"Yes Sergeant Major," Danny stammered, Tommy pressed the gun against Danny's head which was bowed.  
"In the bleak mid-winter," Tommy whispered before pulling the trigger. Danny's body fell into the black coal barge as it passed by, the two Italians walked off and after a few moments, so did Tommy.

That night, Tommy was sat in his office at the betting shop reading the race section in the newspaper when Arthur ripped open his door,  
"It bloody won!" Arthur yelled furiously slapping his own newspaper, Tommy didn't even look up from his,  
"Monaghan Boy bloody won!" His voice still angry. Tommy finally looked away from his paper to Arthur. He had a deep, deadly look on his face.  
"Yeah. It won." Tommy's voice was quiet,  
"And word will spread. So next time we do the powder trick it won't just be the Garrison that'll bet on the horse, it'll be the whole of Small Heath. And you know what? The horse will win again." His voice was still low but just louder now, Tommy stood toe-to-toe with Arthur as he spoke now,  
"And the third time we do it we'll have the whole of Birmingham betting on it. A thousand quid bet on the magic horse. And that time, when we are ready, the horse will lose." The two stare into each other's eyes and, without breaking eye contact, Tommy reached for a bottle of rum and passed it to Arthur,  
"Have a drink and think about it Arthur." Tommy abruptly leaves the betting shop and goes to his home where Grace and Ellie are awaiting his arrival.

Getting inside, Tommy lifted a sleepy Eleanor into his arks and took her upstairs where he lay her down on her bed, she was already in her pyjama's, Tommy grabbed the girls teddy bear from the foot of the bed and gave it to the exhausted child who cuddled into the blanket clutching the animal. Tommy read a story to Ellie as he watched her fall asleep, she seemed to be sleeping better and better recently but every now and then she would still wake up crying. Tommy nor Grace minded as they were able to know when their daughter was ok or not.

 **Ok, so this chapter has been ENTIRELY rewritten, it has taken me a couple hours, 3 cups of tea and a neck cramp to complete. Enjoy.**


End file.
